Six Sigma Certification Advice Urgently Needed

[StatsMan04]

Hi everyone! I am considering obtaining a Black Belt Six Sigma certification online from sixsigmaonline.org. I have no business experience using six sigma methods and I thought this would be the most practical way to obtain a black belt and boost my resume credentials. However, in light of all the diploma mills, online scams, etc. floating around I am naturally a bit hesitant to shell out the money needed to obtain this.

My question is this: Can anyone tell me if this company is reputable and if so, would it be recognized as a valid substitute from having obtained the certification via real life business projects? I just don't wanna spend money on this if it's not going to carry any weight.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Miner]

I am a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and teach the curriculum for my company. I reviewed the website that you listed, and I am not very impressed because they do not provide any details on the curriculum or learning objectives. I found a very interesting discussion thread on them at iSixSigma that was worth reading.

 

[StatsMan04]

That link you provided was very insightful. Thanks a lot. If this is not a viable solution, what would you recommend doing to obtain a SS certification?

 

[Miner]

I recommend taking a look at Air Academy Associates and BMGI for Six Sigma Black Belt training. SBTI has an excellent MBB program, but a mediocre BB program and is quite expensive.

 

[noetsi]

The American Society for Quality has a black belt certification I believe. That would probably be your best bet. Having done research on it and taken a six sigma course (I am trying to complete the certification now) I would say that 1) its not very strong on statistics and 2) its not particularly useful outside industrial applications (many of its methods only work with routinized behaviors).

 

[Miner]

The methods will work well outside industrial applications provided you can describe what you do as a process. This includes any type of transactional process, laboratory testing process, etc. I would agree that it will not work well for ad hoc (one off) situations.

 

[StatsMan04]

If that's the case, would you therefore not recommend obtaining a SS for something unrelated such as being a survey or mathematical statistician?

 

[noetsi]

The methods will work well outside industrial applications provided you can describe what you do as a process. This includes any type of transactional process, laboratory testing process, etc. I would agree that it will not work well for ad hoc (one off) situations.

That hasn't been my experience. Most of the six sigma tools require data, or provide information, that simply don't very well with interactions between people. I learned lots of tools in Six Sigma and never seen a situation that they could be applied to those types of situations.

 

[Miner]

If that's the case, would you therefore not recommend obtaining a SS for something unrelated such as being a survey or mathematical statistician?

No. The type of statistics taught in Six Sigma are not really suited for survey analysis, and are very basic for mathematical statistician. Six Sigma primarily consists of following a standardized methodology using project management and the use of data to make decisions. You might benefit from learning the methodology, but could easily learn that from a good book.

 

[Miner]

That hasn't been my experience. Most of the six sigma tools require data, or provide information, that simply don't very well with interactions between people. I learned lots of tools in Six Sigma and never seen a situation that they could be applied to those types of situations.

Six Sigma has had a lot of success in the healthcare , clinical laboratory, and insurance businesses. Just because you are not manufacturing a product, does not mean that you do not have data. I am seeing applications success in sales, testing and human resources.